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NFL Draft: Portal players by the numbers

College players who were previously in the transfer portal had a major impact on the 2025 NFL Draft. Take a look at some of the notable stats regarding where transfer players were selected and the path they took to the NFL Draft.

MORE NFL DRAFT: Winners and losers | Former five-stars selected on Day 2 | Did Rivals hit or miss on each first-round pick? | First 10 five-stars drafted | Former five-stars that weren't drafted

MORE TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer Team Ranking | Football Player Ranking

2 - Consecutive drafts where the top two selections were players who transferred while in college

Last year Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels were picked Nos. 1 and 2 by Chicago and Washington. This year Cam Ward and Travis Hunter were taken with the first two picks, making it the second year in a row that the first two selections were players who had transferred at least once during their college careers.

Williams famously transferred from Oklahoma to USC and Daniels went from Arizona State to LSU.

Ward, who was selected by the Tennessee Titans, began his career at Incarnate Word before transferring to Washington State and then to Miami. Everyone remembers when Hunter shocked the world by flipping from Florida State to Jackson State on National Signing Day in the 2022 class. He went from there to Colorado, where he ended up winning the Heisman Trophy this past season.

2 - Quarterbacks that did not transfer while in college

There were 13 quarterbacks picked in the NFL Draft last week and 11 of those selected, including first-round picks Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart, had transferred at least once during their college careers.

The only two drafted quarterbacks who didn’t transfer while in college are Jalen Milroe from Alabama and Cam Miller from North Dakota State. Milroe was the fourth quarterback to get picked and went to Seattle in the third round. He signed with Alabama in the 2021 class as a top-100 prospect and started for the Crimson Tide the last two seasons.

Miller, who was picked by the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round, signed with North Dakota State in the 2020 recruiting class. He won two FCS national championships and finished his career with North Dakota State records for total offensive yards, completion percentage, completions and passing yards.

31 - Players picked in the first three rounds transferred at least once in college

Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, Walter Nolen, Derrick Harmon, Matthew Golden, Jaxson Dart and Josh Simmons were the seven players picked in the first round of the draft who transferred at least once during their college careers.

There were 24 more of them picked before the end of round three. That equates to just over 30-percent of the first three rounds of the NFL Draft.

13 - Transfers picked in the first three rounds that started their careers at non-Power Four programs

A growing number of players from lower levels of college football are transferring up to Power Four programs and many of them are able to develop into high draft picks. There were 13 players picked in the first three rounds of the draft who began their careers outside of the Power Four conferences.

Cam Ward (Incarnate Word), Travis Hunter (Jackson State), and Josh Simmons (San Diego State) were each first-round picks despite not starting their careers at major football schools.

The second round featured former Eastern Kentucky receiver Jayden Higgins who finished his college career at Iowa State, Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris who first suited up for Louisiana Tech and defensive back Trey Amos who began his career at Louisiana before transferring to Alabama and then Ole Miss.

There were seven players picked in the third round who started their careers at non-Power Four programs. Washington State receiver Kyle Williams (UNLV), Arkansas receiver Isaac TeSlaa (Hillsdale), Cal defensive back Nohl Williams (UNLV), Tulane defensive back Caleb Ransaw (Troy), Michigan edge defender Josaiah Stewart (Coastal Carolina), Western Kentucky defensive back Upton Stout (North Texas) and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who started his career at UCF when the Knights were still playing in the AAC.

5 - Players who transferred at least twice while in college picked in the first three rounds

Speaking of Gabriel, the former Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA (briefly) and UCF quarterback is one of five players picked in the first three rounds of the draft who transferred multiple times during their college careers.

Of course, No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward transferred twice before he left the college ranks, starting his career at Incarnate Word and then transferring to Washington State and then to Miami. Former Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough, who was selected in the second round by New Orleans, began his career at Oregon before transferring to Texas Tech and then to Louisville.

Also in the second round, Cincinnati picked linebacker Demetrius Knight, who signed with Georgia Tech in the 2019 class and then transferred to Charlotte before finishing his career at South Carolina. Defensive back Trey Amos, who was selected by Washington in the second round, was first playing for Louisiana before he transferred to Alabama and then Ole Miss.

1 - Offensive lineman picked in the first three rounds that transferred during their college career

There were 19 offensive linemen picked in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft and only one of them transferred after beginning career at an FBS school. Ohio State’s Josh Simmons was picked in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs. Simmons signed with San Diego State in the 2021 recruiting class and redshirted his first year with the Aztecs. He started every game during his second season and then transferred to Ohio State prior to the start of the 2023 season.